Book Fairs and Library Talks? The Surprising Value of Offline Marketing

Nowadays, it seems that just about everyone is obsessed with online marketing. But have you ever thought about what promoting your books offline could do for your career as a self-published author?

In a world where practically everyone has access to the internet on a computer or a phone, it can be easy to overlook the more traditional forms of marketing that have been tried and true for countless businesses over a span of centuries.

That said, with billions of people navigating the internet super highway on a daily basis, you’re probably wondering why you would even consider going offline to do your marketing and promotion?

The Powerful Benefits of Offline Marketing

If you’re skeptical about whether or not there is value in offline marketing, what follows are just a few of the reasons why it is something that you should look into if improving your brand visibility and increasing your fan base is on your list of long term goals.

One-on-One Interaction

One of the most outstanding benefits of doing offline marketing vs online marketing is the in-person interaction you get to have with prospects that you can’t get in the virtual world.

There is something about shaking a hand, giving a smile and having one-on-one interaction that no amount of email, blog posts and webinars can deliver. This is especially true if you are what could be considered as a “people person” that does well with interpersonal communication.

If this sounds like you, consider taking your book promotions offline to have the greatest marketing impact.

Reaching Groups That Don’t Use the Internet

While over 40 percent of the world’s population is online, there are still billions of people who rarely, if ever, use a computer or a cell phone to access information on the world wide web.

Depending on who the members of your target audience are, this could mean that you’re missing out on lots of valuable opportunities to showcase your books and brand in front of an audience that will truly appreciate them.

With all the advances in online marketing, word of mouth remains the best marketing tool in the world for spreading awareness of a brand and its associated products. Nothing gives your prospects the confidence they need to purchase one of your book offers more than a recommendation from a relative, friend or associate.

While shares and likes are common online, the vast majority of word of mouth communication still takes place in the offline world. Try shifting your focus towards in-person marketing techniques to help boost the chances of your books and brand being promoted via word of mouth.

Improve Your Brand Identity

The internet is a wonderful tool for building and developing a strong brand identity, however to truly have the best results it is important to expand your reach to offline sources of potential customers.

This is especially true if you want your brand to become well-known locally and if your book offers tend to center around specific geographical locations.

Low Cost Marketing

An often overlooked but significant benefit of doing offline marketing is that you can often get a lot of high quality exposure for a very low cost.

Many online marketing strategies such as blogging and search engine optimization can bring in leads and prospects with little or no money spent up front. But the same applies for offline promotion depending on the types of marketing methods you choose to utilize.

Narrowing Your Prospects Focus

One of the biggest drawbacks of online marking is that you are instantly thrown into an endless sea of competition in the form of other self-published authors, millions of blogs and all kinds of marketing messages that vie for the attention of your target audience. Worse still, they have to wade through all of that on a daily basis to get to the ones that they actually want to know more about.

Going offline with your marketing has a distinct advantage that comes from being able to cut through the noise and connect with the eyes and ears of members of your target audience without having to first navigate through all the distractions they would typically encounter online.

The Allure of an Actual Book

While, eBooks have been very popular for many years and continue to be a resource for promotion and a source of revenue for many self-published authors, there’s no denying that there has been a massive resurgence in the desire for hard copy books in recent years.

When you move your marketing offline, you are almost required to have hard copies of your book that you can either give away in promotions or sell to interested parties.

For prospects who live for the feeling of paper between their fingers, a real book goes a much further way than any virtual offer ever could.

Simple Offline Marketing Tactics for Self-Published Authors

There are countless ways that you can do offline marketing and promotion as a self-published author. Here are some of the simplest ways to get started:

Get into Public Speaking

If you feel comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, why not consider getting into public speaking in order to gain more exposure for your brand and books?

This method is especially effective if you write non-fiction books and have plenty of resources available for booking gigs in places such as community colleges, universities, author networks and interest-specific meetups.

Event Sponsorship

Another great way to improve you brand visibility and get the word out about your books is by sponsoring an event.

Becoming more involved in local community events and backing them as a paying sponsor can go a long way in terms of becoming more well-known.

A fun and effective way to promote your book offline is by throwing a book launch party where all of the attention is focused on you, your brand and your books.

This offline marketing technique isn’t as simple to pull off as some of the others. However, if you can secure a nice location, coordinate the event well, do some effective promotion and attract a significant group of your target audience members, you will have a memorable event and likely score some new fans and customers in the process.

Give Away Promotional Items

A simple way to market offline is by giving away promotional items.

If you’re worried about the potential costs associated with doing this, bear in mind that creating meaningful physical goods doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Consider giving away copies off your book that you already have printed. Alternatively, you could also consider giving away branded products that book lovers are sure to appreciate like bookmarks and other small and low-cost tokens.

Write a Newspaper Column

An easy way to enhance brand recognition while also giving you a chance to let your writing skills shine is by contributing regularly to a column in a local newspaper or magazine on a topic of interest that closely relates to the type of books you write.

For example, if you author books that focus on business topics, try approaching a local paper with ideas for a weekly column that lets you share your knowledge related to small business advice.

The moral of the story?

Never underestimate the power of offline marketing. In an internet obsessed world, you too can tap into this often-forgotten goldmine of marketing and promotion and reach an untapped audience you never even knew existed in the process.

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